A federal judge on Friday ordered lawmakers to come up with a
financial plan by late January to help educate school children
struggling to learn English, else be fined $500,000 a day -- a penalty
that could ultimately rise to $2 million a day.

U.S. District Court Judge Raner Collins also ruled that so-called
English language learners do not have to pass the high-stakes AIMS test
to graduate from high school until lawmakers adequately fund their
education. That would likely exempt them from the test until at least
spring 2007 and possibly beyond.

Arizona leaders have been under a court order for nearly six years to
improve English language programs - which could cost up to $200 million
a year - and have missed several deadlines set by the judge. Public
interest attorneys filed the original Flores v. Arizona lawsuit on
behalf of a Nogales family in 1992.

"This is a pretty big hammer," said Tim Hogan of the Arizona Center
for Law in the Public Interest. "We're really pleased with the decision
and are confident this is going to get the state's attention and get
them to solve the problem"

Hogan had asked the court to freeze more than $500 million in federal
highway funds to the state, a potentially devastating blow to the
state's economy that Collins rejected. But Hogan is convinced that the
fines will spur immediate action.

Lawmakers will have 15 days after the legislative session starts on Jan.
9 to present Collins with a spending plan. After that, Collins will fine
the state $500,000 a day for 30 days. If there's still no progress, the
fine grows to $1 million a day for another 30 days. The fine would grow
to $1.5 million after that until the legislative session ends. If a
typical 100-day session ended with no plan, the total fines would be
$77.5 million. If lawmakers adjourn with no plan, the fines grow to $2
million a day and would go on indefinitely.

Hogan also said he was happy for immigrant students who would not have
to pass the AIMS test to graduate.

"These kids are just getting penalized for the state's failures," he
added. "It's a punitive system. Not just punitive, but wrong."

Some educators have cautioned that exempting ELL students from the AIMS
test could wipe out schools' incentive to give them special attention.

Democrat Gov. Janet Napolitano and Republican House and Senate leaders
have been at a bitter impasse over how to deal with the judge's orders.
Napolitano vetoed a Republican-backed bill in May that she felt was
inadequate. Republicans then ignored a Napolitano-crafted plan unveiled
over the summer to spend up to $180 million a year because they felt it
was too expensive. That prompted Hogan, one of the most influential
public interest attorneys in the nation, to go back to court in October
and ask Judge Collins to get tough.

Jeanine L'Ecuyer, Napolitano's press secretary, said the governor wants
lawmakers to "roll up their sleeves and get this done."

"We need to get this issue resolved and this opinion is right in line
with that," L'Ecuyer said. "The governor has wanted and continues to
want an educated, English-speaking workforce. This about our children
and it's time to get it done."

L'Ecuyer said the governor is "open to the idea" of calling a special
session if a bill can be hammered out in time.

"The ball is in the Legislature's court," L'Ecuyer said. "They have to
decide if they are going to take this seriously or not. The court has
ruled. What the governor has said consistently that if we can get the
details worked out, call a special session and get a bill done, out and
over, she is open to that idea. She has been serious about doing this
for a long time."